McGarrett's Surprise
by babygirlmorgan
Summary: Steve had planned the perfect way to spend his weekend off.  Little did he know the surprise that awaited him that would not only change his weekend but his life.  Warning** one episode of spanking of a child ** Please Review. Thanks.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This is purely fiction and I don't own and claim to have created any of the Hawaii Five-0 characters or references to them. This is purely fiction.**

Ahh, it was finally a summer Saturday with no crazy drug lords to chase down, no mafia men from the mainland to subdue, and no calls from the governor for any other randomness that could mess up a day. Steve planned to go spear fishing with Chin Ho in the morning and possibly surfing with Kono and the surf-newbie, Danny, later on. Steaks on the grill for dinner with a couple of beers sitting in his backyard sounded like the perfect way to end the day. It was going to be a good weekend.

Steve woke up leisurely and fixed himself a healthy breakfast of eggs and toast because he wanted to keep it light seeing as how he would be fishing later. He was just plating his eggs when there was a knock at the door. He wondered who would be disturbing him as he was getting his perfect Saturday underway. When he looked out he saw a very pretty lady with beautiful blonde hair dressed very nicely with two kids in tow, a boy and a girl. The kids had olive complexions and thick, dark, curly hair. He opened the door and asked the lady if he could help her. "Are you Steven McGarrett," the lady asked. "Uh, yes I am," he replied. The lady said, "My name is Shari Giovanni from Annapolis, Maryland. I am a lawyer representing Annette Tilding of Baltimore, Maryland." Upon hearing Annapolis, Steve was taken aback. But at hearing the name Annette Tilding, Steve almost hit the floor. "May we come in?" Steve hesitated because he didn't know why someone would bring up the name Annette Tilding after 11 years. Steve allowed the lady and the two kids to come in and offered them something to drink, but they declined. The kids looked a little nonchalant and looked like they could not be more than 11 or 12 years old. This interruption was not part of his plan especially with these places and names being thrown about.

The lady asked Steve if he remembered Ms. Tilding and if so could he explain how he knew her. Steve asked Shari to please just get on with what she came for because he could not go through the details. Shari insisted that Steve explain their relationship. He took a deep breath and began. Annette was his friend from Annapolis at the time. "Friend?" Shari interrupted. "Yes, friend," Steve continued. As he was finishing his time at the Naval Academy, he befriended Annette but was not serious about her. Shari encouraged him to continue but Steve looked at the kids and felt uncomfortable continuing. "Are you sure I can't get you something to drink or maybe you want to sit on the deck and enjoy the ocean," he directed to the kids. "Okay," they replied and with that he got them some sodas, some cards, and set them up on the deck. When he returned, he asked again what this was about. Shari replied that she had to hear his story of their relationship in order to figure out if she has to continue with this visit. Steve thought this strange and asked who the kids were. She again said she needed to hear his story to figure out what to do next. Bewildered, he continued. He knew that when he left the academy he was moving to the west coast and he had just met Annette and had no real ties to her. The week of his graduation, Annette invited him to dinner at her place to thank him for befriending her during a rough period in her life and to congratulate him on his graduation. She had just broken up with her long term boyfriend and he had been the right impetus she needed to get on with her life. Dinner was good, he said, and they sat down to watch a movie. It was some kind of romantic comedy, if he remembered correctly. That was it he said. "Are you sure that was all," Shari asked. "Yeah," said Steve, slightly annoyed.

"Nothing else happened that night?"

"No."

"You're absolutely sure?"

"Lady, where are you going with this?"

"I just need to know if anything else happened. It's important."

"Yeah, but you still haven't really said why you and the kids are here. I don't know you and yet you pop up out the blue wanting me to talk about a person and events from ten or eleven years ago. You wouldn't be an open book either if someone showed up on your doorstep asking strange questions."

"Mr. McGarrett, I will tell you everything in a moment. But first I need you to tell me how that night ended."

Steve was thinking this was weird but he finished. "Well if I remember correctly, things progressed and we ended up sleeping together."

"Sleeping together?" she asked with eyebrows raised.

"You know what I mean."

"Did you ever see her again?"

"Yes, I saw her the day I graduated and she promised to visit me after I got settled. She never did. I tried calling but her number was disconnected and a letter I sent was returned. My phone and e-mail remained the same and she never contacted me so I figured she didn't want to be bothered for some reason. So now, are you going to tell me why you are here?"

"Well, that's what I needed to hear. I needed to hear you say that you had sex with Ms. Tilding so that I can tell you that those are your children out there on the deck."

Steve's jaw dropped. His eyebrows knitted together and he put his finger up to his mouth to close it. He looked to the doors leading out to the deck and looked back at the lady and shook his head. "Uh no, those cannot be my kids. We wore protection. And why am I just now hearing about them? She was in a relationship right before we became friends. Why couldn't they be his children? The other guy's kids?" A million things were running through his head mainly that these cannot be his kids. The lady smiled at his bewilderment. She calmly stated that in fact the other guy was tested and was not the father. Annette had only slept with Steve during the time that kids could have been conceived.

"Okay, so let's just say that these kids are mine, which I am not, why are they here?"

"Good question, Mr. McGarrett. Ms. Tilding became overwhelmed with the kids and felt like they should stay with their father for a while – with you. Well actually a while is putting it mildly. She has decided that she does not want the kids and was on the verge of abandoning them."

"Oh hold on a second," Steve said becoming very panicked. "For one, I don't know that these kids are mine. For two, how is she just giving up her kids to someone they don't know. And for three, what am I supposed to do with them?"

Shari expected this freak out and kind of chuckled which Steve found annoying. "Mr. McGarrett," she proceeded, "I think the first order of business would be to establish paternity to make you feel more at ease about assuming responsibility for your children. Their names…" Steve cut her off, "Assuming responsibility for _my_ children? Lady, excuse me, Ms. Giovanni, you show up here with two kids and tell me that their mine and because their mother decides she can't handle them, I'm supposed to take them off her hands? I don't think so."

"Mr. McGarrett, if you don't accept the kids they will be made wards of the state because she wants to terminate parental rights."

"Why would she do that?"

"I will explain that later. Look, Mr. McGarrett, would you want your flesh and blood to be bounced from foster home to foster home when you could have done something to help them. You know the outcomes of young people raised in the system. They don't do well. They…"

"Doesn't she have some other family that can take them?"

"She wanted them to live with you. She feels like with your background in the navy and you being a police officer…"

"I'm not a police officer and how does she know this stuff about me?"

"Is that really important? Look, Mr. McGarrett, we are wasting time here. We need to establish paternity so that if, in fact, you are not their parent, then we can move on. "

"Ms. Giovanni, we are…"

There was a knock on the door. Steve went to answer it and it was Chin Ho to go spear fishing. "Hey bruh," Chin Ho said as Steve opened the door. "Ready to go fishing?" Steve looked perturbed and Chin Ho picked up on it. "What's going on?" Chin Ho asked looking around at Shari and seeing the kids out on the deck. "It's complicated," Steve replied. "We will need to reschedule."

"Anything I can do, bruh?"

"No, I will work it out. I will fill you in later."

"Alright. Let me know. I will check on you later."

"Who was that?" Ms. Giovanni asked. Steve replied quite curtly, "You were saying about establishing paternity? How do you suggest we go about that – quickly?"

"Well we will do a DNA test. We should get the results in 2 business days. So we should know by Wednesday if we get the test in on Monday," said Shari.

"No we will get it before then. Let me make a few calls. I need this matter resolved quickly. I know I don't have any kids," Steve said adamantly. "Give me a minute."

Steve stepped away for about 5 minutes and when he came back, Shari was out on the deck with the kids. Steve told Shari and the kids that they could get the test done as a favor at King's Hospital and they needed to go right away.

By this time the kids were complaining that they were hungry. They started demanding rather rudely that they eat right now. Steve looked at these kids and rolled his eyes. These kids could not be his acting like this. How would he able to tolerate behavior like that. He spoke up and told them that after they are done at the hospital they could grab a quick bite. They looked at him and said "Now," in unison. This irked him. He looked in the refrigerator and offered them some fruit as that was all he had at the time except for his eggs and toast that had gone cold. He noticed that although the kids were hungry, he was no longer hungry. He figured anybody would lose their appetite with what was dropped on him. Shari packed up the kids and followed Steve to the hospital. They had the blood drawn and was told that as a favor to "Commander" McGarrett the results would be available tomorrow. "Commander?" the kids asked. "Commander of what?" they added. Steve told them that he was a naval commander. "I thought you were a police officer."

"Not quite. I work on a special task force for the governor to get rid of criminals."

"Hmm," the girl said.

"That might be cool," the boy said as he looked like he was measuring Steve up.

Steve looked at the kids and said a quick prayer that these were not his kids. They weren't like Grace, sweet and respectful. They seemed like they were smart aleck kids who didn't know their place. No wonder Annette was giving up on them. But that seems harsh even for these bad kids.

"Ok. Well, we'll see what the results show. I will call you, Ms. Giovanni, when I get them back. Do you have a card or something?"

She gave him the card and she left with the kids to get them something to eat. Steve turned to leave and called Danny to tell him that he will not be able surf and that something has come up.

"What has come up that is so important that you can't go surfing with me and Kono?" Danny asked.

"I am still going to have steak and beer tonight. You all can come over after surfing and I will explain but right now I have to go," Steve said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: This is purely fiction and I don't own and claim to have created any of the Hawaii Five-0 characters or references to them. This is purely fiction.**

He had to go home to think about this for a while. He thought back to when he was graduating and that last night that he had with Annette and graduation day. He did not think it would be the last time that he saw her. She said that she would keep in touch with him when he moved to San Diego to start his career. He never heard from her again. She was not someone that he would have called a girlfriend but she could have been if they had kept in touch. Steve met her when he went to a bar with a couple of his friends in March of that year that he was graduating. She went to Bowie State and was studying sociology. Her family was from Maryland and they were a very well off African American family but he never met them. He thought she was quite beautiful but she was in a bad relationship and was trying to get out of it. She talked with Steve all the time to vent about this boyfriend. Steve didn't mind because she was just a really cool girl and she was easy to talk to. He didn't think much of their interaction at all. She finally called him and told him that as a result of her discussions with him and his male insight she actually found the nerve to break up with her boyfriend. She realized that she needed something different and he could not give it to her. She wanted to thank Steve and congratulate him for his graduation. She offered to cook him dinner at her apartment. One thing led to another and before he knew it, he had slept with her. Because he thought of her as a friend he was really surprised when she made the advances towards him. He was attracted to her in many ways and therefore went along with it. Afterwards, they talked all night into the morning. He had to get going to get to graduation rehearsal and to meet his dad and sister who were coming in for the event. He made sure that she had his cell phone and e-mail info and told her to keep in touch. He said he would give her his mailing address and everything once he was settled. She said she would come to visit. He told her that he would be expecting her visit. That visit never materialized and he could never get in touch with her. He tried everything he knew short of going back to find her personally. He did not understand how she could just fall off the face of the earth, but he had to move on and he did.

That night, 5-0 came over and they cooked out. After they had eaten and Danny regaled them with his latest adventures in surfing lessons with Kono being the teacher, Chin Ho asked Steve, "So who was that lady with those kids earlier?" Steve told them what happened. Danny of course started laughing. He found it so hilarious that it was even possible that Steve could be a father. All he could say through his laughter was that karma was a bitch. Steve asked, "What does that mean? I never wished anything bad on you." Danny asked, "You think having kids is bad?"

"No, that is not what I'm saying. But I do think that having two preteen kids dropped on you out of the blue because their mother is fed up is horrible. Worse yet is having two kids that you did not know you even had – and I'm not saying that they are mine – is even worse."

"When do you get the DNA results back?" Chin Ho asked. "Tomorrow. I called in a favor at the hospital," Steve replied. I am not looking forward to this. What am I going to do with two kids? Especially a girl." Kono chimed in that she would be happy to help. "I can teach you to do her hair and take her shopping…" Kono said dreamily. Danny asked how old the kids were and what their names were. Steve said that he did not know their names. Danny asked incredulously, "you don't know your kids names?" Steve quickly replied, "They are not my kids, Danny. Why do I need to know their names?" He told them that they had to be about ten years old if Annette is thinking these are his kids because he last saw her about 11 years ago when he graduated from the academy. He told them he didn't want to talk about it anymore and tried to change the subject. They all decided to call it a night, helped Steve to clean up, and went home.

Steve found it quite difficult to sleep that night because he could not stop thinking about the remote possibility of being a father to these children. Their faces kept popping up and he could not shake them.

To Steve, it felt like it took forever for morning to arrive. His phone rang around 10 am and it was his friend from the hospital. He had the results back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: This is purely fiction and I don't own and claim to have created any of the Hawaii Five-0 characters or references to them. This is purely fiction.**

The DNA tests showed that the kids shared Steve's DNA. He was a dad. HE WAS A DAD!

Steve had to sit down. He could not believe this. Oh my God, he thought. What am I going to do?

He called his team again because had no one else to call. What was he going to do? He had to get some advice from anyone possible. He could not call Shari back right now. He had to process this. How could he take care of two kids that he did not know? He didn't even know what kids these days liked. He didn't even know their names. Oh my God, he thought over and over again.

Danny, Chin Ho, and Kono came over again - this time to provide moral support for him when he called Shari. This was unreal.

When he called to give Shari the results, she told him she would be over by 2 pm with the kids and they would need to stay the night. "Huh?" Steve asked. "They will need to stay over with you so that you can get to know them and they can get to know you. I will be leaving by the end of the week and I need to know that they are comfortable with you before I go." "What if they are not comfortable with me? Are you going to take them back with you?" he asked. "Well, no. But it would help when I give the report to their mother that they got settled in okay." "A report to their mother? She is giving her kids up and she wants a report? You know what I want right now is to talk to her. I want to know what kind of mother gives up her kids and I want to know what kind of mother doesn't even tell a man that he has fathered children?" There was a silence over the phone. Shari then said, "She does not want to be contacted by you." "Well then you take a message to her that she will be hearing from me, whether she wants to or not. She owes me an explanation of her actions and to tell me what to do with these –our – kids. It's the very least she can do."

The team was looking at him, really at a loss for how to help. Then it was as if something clicked and Steve started to come up with a plan. He figured that the most important thing was to setup for the kids. They had to hurry up and update his and Mary's old rooms to make them suitable for young kids. He would have to go grocery shopping for some basic things like popsicles and he had to go buy a video game system. All kids like video games. From a tactical standpoint, he had to figure out how to get in touch with Annette. He knew the lawyer had her number and her info. He just had to figure out how to separate her from her phone and her briefcase just momentarily to be able to get what he needed. What he decided was that when he took the kids and the lawyer on a tour of the house and out to the beach, Kono would be able to get to the phone and briefcase and find the info that he needed. He would call Annette while somehow making it seem like it's coming from Shari's phone so that she would answer. If that did not work he was certain that some piece of paper in the briefcase would have her address. He would pay her a visit if he had to. He felt a little less anxious with a plan in place.

Kono and Chin Ho did Steve the favor of going to get the bed sets and a few toys while Steve and Danny went grocery shopping. It was probably round 3 or so when Shari and the kids arrived. Steve tried to relax so as not to freak out the kids. When they came in, Steve asked them their names because he had not been told their names. Their names were Allison and Aaron and now they looked scared. Steve asked them why they looked so afraid. Allison said because she heard that they were being left with him and they did not know him and he seemed mad that they were there yesterday. He said he was shocked and that was all. He told them that later he would show them a surprise but first did they want something to eat or drink. They just wanted something to drink. He offered them juice, soda, or water. Of course, they opted for sodas. He noticed that the lawyer put her stuff down including her phone. Ok now they were getting somewhere he thought. He told them he would show them around. He took them upstairs to show them around at which point, Kono slipped out of the front closet and took the papers out the briefcase and took the papers into the closet with her. She looked through them as they continued the tour upstairs. When she heard them go outside, she exited the closet and spread the papers out in order on the table and took pictures of them. She then took the phone and copied the sim card. She put everything back as it was and slipped out the front door. There she waited until they came back and then she rang the door bell as if she had just come up. She told Steve she was dropped off and would catch a ride back with Chin Ho. She introduced herself to the kids and asked them what they thought of their rooms that they would stay in. They said they were alright. "Just alright? Well let's look at it again so that I can see what I can do to make it better. Come with me. Ok?" Kono asked. They went upstairs.

At this point, Steve asked the lawyer, "Now what?"

"Well, we have to have you sign the birth certificates and I have to give you a packet of information about each of the kids. I also have a letter for you from Annette."

"How long have you had this letter and why are you just now giving it me?"

"She stipulated that I should give you the letter only if it was proven that you were the twins' father."

"Why is she being so freaking secretive? Look Shari, I need some answers. Like how is she paying for all of this because I know your services are not free?"

"Why don't you read the letter and maybe it will give you some insight. I'm going to go now and I will check back tomorrow. I will be registering the birth certificates and terminating Annette's parental rights."

"Hold on a sec. I don't want you to terminate her parental rights. Maybe she just needs a break. Can you at least give me until I get to read the letter before you do that? Please?"

"Okay. I will wait 24 hours before I file any paper work. Is that enough time?"

"Forty eight hours would be better. Just give me a chance. Ok?"

"Ok. Forty eight hours and I will be filing paperwork. Give me a call if you're ready before the 48 hours are up."

"Fine."

"Fine." And with that she was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: This is purely fiction and I don't own and claim to have created any of the Hawaii Five-0 characters or references to them. This is purely fiction.**

Steve sat on the sofa and put his head in his hands. He just could not believe that this was happening to him. He looked at Chin Ho and Danny and asked, "What am I going to do with these kids?" Danny said very matter of factly, "Get to know them and become their father. I know that it is one of the best and most rewarding roles you could ever have. Why do you think I moved halfway around the world for Grace?" Steve knew that he wanted kids some day but this was a bit much. Chin Ho piped up adding, "We will help you any way we can, bruh."

At this point, Kono and the kids came back downstairs. She said, "Allison wants a pink room and she needs more dolls and Aaron needs the transformer stuff for his room. Right guys?" "Right," the kids answered. Steve looked and saw that they were smiling at that point. That was a little better he thought. It still didn't help him to figure out what he was going to do. Allison looked up at Kono and had her lean down to her. She whispered to Kono that she was hungry. Kono said, "We can fix that." Then she looked at Steve and said while smirking wickedly, "Dad, we're hungry." Steve looked up and turned to Kono with a look that would have dropped a rhino if looks could kill. "What did you say?" he asked her. "We, meaning me and the twins, are hungry. Do you have something here or should we go out to get something, Dad." She still smirked even though he really looked like he could do some major damage at that point. She found it hilarious and she was trying to desensitize him to that name. "Oh, uh, well there is something here but I guess we should go out to get something. What do you guys want?" he asked. The twins looked at each other and said, "McDonald's!" "Alright, McDonald's it is, this time. We can't make this a habit," Steve said.

They all rolled out to get something to eat and Steve tried to make small talk with the kids over French fries and chicken nuggets. He asked them if they know how to swim and did they like the ocean. They were enthusiastic when they replied in unison, "Yes!" This was up his alley and this could be something easy for him. "Did you guys bring swimsuits?" he asked. No they didn't have swimsuits with them. Steve told them that he would take them shopping for swimsuits and beach toys. He asked Danny if he would like to bring Grace over to play with the kids. Danny told him that it wasn't his weekend but he would ask Rachael if he could steal her for the evening. When he stepped away and came back, the obvious answer was no. He was a little steamed but wasn't that always the case with Danny and Rachael. No problem, Steve thought. He could handle this.

They left and went to Target and bought the kids some swimwear and some beach toys. Steve bought Allison a doll and some accessories and a few posters to go on her wall. Of course she got a poster of the Biebs and Selena Gomez. He was baffled as to who these people were. Aaron got some transformer stuff and some bey blades (what the heck were those, Steve wondered). They went on home and got ready to go hang out by the water.

When they were ready and headed outside, Steve saw the kids take off running for the water and a thought came over him. That could be dangerous if no one knew they were out there and a wave carried them off. He called out, "Whoa! Stop for a second. Listen to me. I don't want you to come out and get in the water without an adult. It's okay for you to come out to play in the sand after you let me know but no getting in the water without me or another adult. Do you understand?" "Yes," they replied. "Okay then, let's go." They all ran into the water and there was tons of splashing and frolicking. Aaron was having fun being tossed about by the guys. Allison was placed up on Steve's shoulders and he walked out and dumped her in the water. She came up squealing with delight. Steve didn't know when exactly happened but all he knew was that he got lifted in the air by everybody and was thrown into the water. He came out vowing to get everybody. He proceeded to dunk everybody one by one including the kids. They were having so much fun.

They worked up an appetite so they ended up cooking some hot dogs on the grill. The kids worked on building an elaborate sand castle while the adults sat around talking. Steve told them that Annette sent a letter with the lawyer that was supposed to explain everything but of course he had not had time to read it yet. Danny said, "Well if she just sent them away, it would seem like sending them back to her would be a bad idea. I mean for as much as Rachael gets on my nerves, I know that she would never just send Grace away to somebody that she doesn't know. Something has to be off about her." Steve said, "For the short period of time that I was around her she seemed completely normal. Well I will look at that letter tonight and see what is going on." Chin Ho said, "They are really cute kids and seem to be a lot of fun." Steve said, "We will see. They seemed a little surly yesterday when they first came and when we went to the hospital. But I agree they are cute. Maybe they are scared because I don't know what's going on and I don't know how much they know of what's going on. After I read the letter, maybe I will be able to sort some stuff out." He looked out at the kids and over the ocean and still was trying to wrap his head around what was going on.

Aaron and Allison walked up to where the adults were sitting and were yawning. Allison went over to Kono and lay up against her. Kona put her arm around her and asked her, "Are you sleepy?" She just kind of nodded and slumped against her a little more. Steve said, "Okay then time for bed. Let's go." They went inside and he had them shower and reminded them to wash their hair. He got them to bed, leaving a lamp on for Allison because she asked him to, and he went downstairs. The team was leaving for the night and he figured he would have time to read the letter and gather his thoughts.

Steve showered and fixed himself some coffee. He took the letter that Shari left and went in the living room to read it. He hoped that the letter would shed a lot of light on what was going on.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: This is purely fiction and I don't own and claim to have created any of the Hawaii Five-0 characters or references to them. This is purely fiction.**

Dear Steve,

I know this is a shock and is out of the blue with the kids and all. I feel in order to explain why I did this I have to go back to when I last saw you.

After you graduated, I went to summer courses. I found out that I was pregnant in early June. I didn't want to tell you because I knew you were just starting your career. I knew we didn't really have a relationship and since I seduced you I didn't feel it would be fair to you to drop this on you and make you assume responsibility for my actions. I continued with school and the twins were born on February 1st. I finished my degree with the help of my parents.

They were disappointed that I had gotten pregnant by someone that I barely knew but they were supportive. They were the best parents and they did everything they could to help me. With their help I was able to get my masters degree in sociology and I began teaching at my alma mater, Bowie State.

The kids were about 4 years old and I had been teaching for about 1 year when my parents were killed in a car accident. I was devastated and I could not move on. They were all I had and my extended family was no good to me or my parents and all they wanted was my parents' money. It was just me and I became overwhelmed. I tried to cope but I was diagnosed with major depressive order. I could not come out of my grieving and I still am. I could not function and eventually lost my job. I have been living off of the money my folks left me and disability from depression.

The kids have taken this badly and I have tried counseling. But they have been acting out and not doing well in school. They don't listen to me and I can see them getting in serious trouble soon. I have been called to school repeatedly and Aaron has been expelled for fighting. I didn't know what to do and felt like I was running out of options. My biggest fear was that I was going to fail at raising them and that they would be a menace to society. I have considered suicide and attempted it once. Even scarier, I considered taking them out with me. That is when I remembered you and sought you out.

Steve, I have no other options. I know this is selfish but I don't know what else to do. Please do not be angry with me or take pity on me. Just raise these kids with the love, discipline, and stability that I'm sure that you can give to them and that I assume you received.

With the little bit of money remaining from what my parents left me, I have arranged for Ms. Giovanni to get custody straightened out and get them settled in with you. Please don't try to contact me for the good of the children. I am terminating my parental rights because I'm not good for them. Maybe you have married or will marry and your wife can adopt them. Anything that happens to them from here on out is the responsibility of their father – you.

I know this is for the best. I know this seems selfish. But if I didn't do this we'd all be dead and I think that is more tragic than you suddenly finding out you have 2 kids.

I will be fine knowing that they are with you.

Sincerely, Annette.

Wow was all Steve could think after reading the letter. He decided to turn in because he was tired but he had a hard time sleeping. He would wake and think about his own mother and how she would never have given up him and Mary. He thought about his dad who, although distant at times, never would have relinquished his parental rights. Steve decided that whatever was going on with Annette must be pretty severe for her to take such drastic measures. He was not sure that the kids going back to her would be a good idea because it all seemed so chaotic. But chaos is probably what they would get with him too. He had no clue how he would deal with the kids in stressful situations because it's not the same as running ops for the navy. He didn't know how he would deal with attitudes that he experienced on that first day, should they surface again. Thus far, they seemed very sweet and normal but would some weirdness pop up later on after they got comfortable? He was making himself nuts. He decided to just try to go to sleep and learn to live his new life as a father on a day to day basis. For now, he would just hold on to the info that Kono was able to get him from the lawyer's stuff.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: This is purely fiction and I don't own and claim to have created any of the Hawaii Five-0 characters or references to them. This is purely fiction.**

Morning arrived and Steve really had gotten no sleep. He got up to check on the kids and they were in Aaron's room playing with those new toys he had got yesterday. He went back to his room to wash his face and brush his teeth. He went back and asked the kids if they were hungry. They were. He led them down to the kitchen and showed them where everything was. They had cereal for breakfast. He had them go up to wash their face, brush their teeth and put on some clothes. In the meantime, he called Gov. Jameson to let her know what was going on and that he would have to take some time off to deal with the kids. She understood and told him to call her if he needed her for anything. He told her that he appreciated her understanding and patience.

He then called Shari and told her that he was ready. She came over to the house to bring him a large file of paperwork that Annette had put together for him. She asked the children how did they like their sleepover with their dad. They told her that they had fun at McDonalds and in the ocean last night. She gave them a hug and told them that sounded like a lot of fun. She asked them if they could go outside for a moment to play in the yard. They complied and Steve reminded them about the water. She handed over the file of information. It included school records, immunization and medical records, her family history and medical history, and two letters for the children that contained a picture of her with the kids looking very happy. She explained in the letter that she loved them and will hopefully see them again but right now she was too sick to take care of them and she was not a good parent. Steve felt that he should hold on to those for a while. Shari explained that the kids needed the letters sooner rather than later because they didn't know that this was a permanent move. They were told that they were going to meet their father so they packed enough for a vacation and didn't bring any of their stuff with them. Steve was beyond irritated because he felt like he had been put in a real trick bag and did not like the idea of having to be responsible for telling these kids that their mom was essentially abandoning them. He signed the necessary paperwork and Shari left to file it. Before she left he asked her when she would be reporting to Annette. She said that she was going to call her as soon as she left the house. She said she would follow up after all paperwork was completed. He would receive his copies of all the filings by courier before she left town.

Steve called the kids in after Shari left. Allison asked where she had gone and he explained that she had to go to take care of some business. He asked the kids to sit down in the living room and he started to explain what was happening. He started by saying, "Aaron and Allison, I have something really important to explain to you and I need you to listen to me really carefully. Okay?" They nodded their heads. "Ms. Shari brought you out here to Hawaii because your mom wanted you to live with me and for us to get to know each other." With that the kids eyes got big and their eyes started to water. "I know you don't know me and I don't know you but I am going to do my very best to take care of you and love you and get to know you as if I had known you from birth." Aaron asked in a very concerned tone, "Where is our mom?" Steve honestly did not know the answer to that but told Aaron that she sent a letter for each of them to explain what was going on. He gave them the letters and told him he would leave them to read for a few minutes.

When he returned from the kitchen getting them some juice, he walked into the living room to see the kids silently weeping. He went to try to console them and they pulled away. He sat down on the chair across from them and just looked at them. He realized that he really didn't know how to console them at this moment so he offered them the juice and just sat back in the chair. They laid their heads back on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling and continued crying. He let them cry until they fell asleep like that.

When they woke up, he asked them to come down to the beach with him. They went down to the water's edge sitting down so that the water lapped at their feet and he asked them how they were feeling and what they were thinking. They just kind of looked at him. He said, "Okay, I will start. I feel confused and scared." Aaron and Allison then started chiming in with their feelings. They told Steve that they felt confused, scared, and tricked. They wanted their mother and they wanted to go home. Steve told them that at least they got it out and they each knew how the other felt and now it was time to try to come together as a family so that they could start to move on. He told them that he would try to get as much information about what was going on with their mother as he could. In the meantime, it was time to learn what it's like to be a McGarrett. "Agreed?" "Agreed," they replied rather feebly. "Now," Steve said, "remember when I told you that I had a surprise for you?" They nodded. "Well, let's go inside and get it. Last one to the house is a rotten egg." The kids took off running and he was the last one to the house. They chanted "rotten egg, rotten egg." Steve said, "Yes, but the rotten egg has the surprise." He went up to his room and got a big bag and brought it downstairs for them. He let them open it and inside they found an Xbox 360 with the kinect stuff. They were high fiving and yessing and were so excited. He said, "Do I get anything for being a cool dad?" They each gave him a hug and he was on cloud nine. "Can we hook it up today?" "Sure," Steve said. "Cool." They hooked up the machine and that was the beginning of their week together.

That week Steve got all of the paperwork he needed from Shari to start getting stuff in order for the kids like insurance and looking at schools, etc. He asked Shari to please do him a favor and please somehow keep him updated with what was going on with Annette. He gave her a note to give to Annette to explain that there were no hard feelings and that he understood that she is ill and can't care for the children. He wanted Shari to find a way to be able to keep up with Annette for the kids' sake and he would keep her posted on the kids. Shari said she would see what she could do. And she left that day for the mainland.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: This is purely fiction and I don't own and claim to have created any of the Hawaii Five-0 characters or references to them. This is purely fiction.**

Steve found summer camps for the kids to occupy their days and he managed to find a couple of babysitters for evenings if he needed them but hadn't so far. He returned to work and really had no further trouble out of the kids except for occasional hard headedness that caused them to lose privileges every now and then. They got into a pretty good routine and the thing that the kids found out really quickly was that their dad was a neat freak and he was serious about it. So they learned that they had to make their beds in the morning before they left to go anywhere and they had to put their stuff up in their rooms before bed. No exceptions because anything that was left out was confiscated for 24 hours. Allison and Aaron began calling him daddy and dad, respectively. He didn't realize what an impact it would have on him but it did have an impact. For the most part, it made him warm and fuzzy inside except when his name was called repeatedly because they were fighting over the Xbox. Then he just cringed.

It had been about a month or so since the kids came to live with him. He had told his friend Catherine over the phone that he now had kids. She thought it was sweet that he had become a dad and she couldn't wait to meet the kids. Steve thought it was awesome that she felt that way. She was coming ashore and he was planning a special night. With the kids there, he didn't feel comfortable having her stay over, so he booked a hotel room. He arranged for a babysitter to stay overnight. He went over the house rules (bed at 9:30, no Xbox after 8, do what you're told, and no going into the water if there are no adults present.) He told them that he would bring Catherine by in the morning to meet them. "Okay daddy," said Allison and she gave him a hug and a kiss. "Alright, Dad," said Aaron and Steve hugged him.

Steve left and went to pick up Catherine and as usual they barely got through dinner. They went to their hotel room and had not been there more than an hour when Steve got a panicked phone call from the babysitter, Laura. She couldn't find Aaron. "What do you mean you can't find Aaron?" She explained that she was watching TV and thought the kids were upstairs and when she went to check on them, Aaron was not up there. She said she checked everywhere and couldn't find him. Allison said she thought he was downstairs. She even checked in the backyard and she called for him but he did not answer. Steve and Catherine got dressed immediately and left and came home. Steve checked all over the house and then went out to the backyard. He looked and saw Aaron's foot prints going down to the water and he looked along the beach and thought he saw two sets of boys' foot prints. He followed the prints down the beach and saw where they went up in to a yard about 2 houses away. The lights were on in the home and Steve went around to the front of the house. He introduced himself to his neighbors (something he had not had a chance to do since being back) and explained that he was looking for his son and thought he might be here because his footprints along with another kid went up into her back yard from the beach. Ms. Lee, the lady that answered the door said, that her son, Michael, was in the lower level and she called for him. She asked him if he knew a kid named Aaron. He replied, "Yeah. He's downstairs playing videos with me. I know him from camp and then I saw him when I was walking down the beach. So I asked him to come play with me and he did." Steve asked Ms. Lee if he could go downstairs to get him. She said no problem.

Steve walked down the stairs and cleared his throat when he saw Aaron. Aaron jumped and his eyes got so wide. "Uh, uh, um. Hi Dad?" Aaron said very shakily.

"Hi Aaron. How's it going?" Steve asked with a menacing smile. "I think it's time for us to go home. Don't you agree?"

"Yes, sir."

Yes, sir? Steve chuckled to himself and thought that Aaron must know that he is really in trouble. That was new. "Aaron, thank Ms. Lee and Michael for their hospitality and then we will go out the back, if that's okay with you, Ms. Lee." Aaron said thank you and said good night and then they took a silent walk back up the beach their house. When they got to their house, Steve got down really low into Aaron's face and asked him what had gotten into him. Aaron looked bewildered and said he didn't know what he was asking him. Steve got a little louder and asked, "How did you get down the street when you weren't even supposed to be outside because you didn't tell anyone you were going outside? That's what I am asking you. Why didn't you tell the babysitter that you were going outside and why didn't you tell her that you were going to someone's house? That's what I'm asking you, Aaron!" Aaron was afraid because he had never heard his dad yell quite like this before. "I'm waiting for an answer, Aaron." "Um, um…" "Not an answer, son. I'm still waiting." Aaron started to answer saying, "I was upstairs and got bored. I wanted to play Xbox but Laura was watching TV. So I went out into the backyard to play and I was kicking the ball around and it went out into the water and when I went to get it I saw my friend from camp and he came down to talk to me and then we started talking about video games and then I went to his house and I didn't realize that it had got dark outside and then you came." "There are several things wrong with this story," Steve said. "First, you weren't supposed to be out in the yard without telling someone. Right?" Aaron nodded. "Second, you weren't supposed to go out in the water without an adult. Correct?" Aaron nodded. "But I can understand because you wanted to get your ball and it wasn't that far out. Right?" Aaron nodded. "But what I don't get is why through all this you never thought to go back in to ask Laura if you could do any of this stuff. Why didn't you go back in to ask Laura about playing outside and going down to the Lees' house?" Aaron didn't say anything. "Son, I'm waiting." "Because she probably would have said no," Aaron said. "That's the problem," Steve said. "You were doing what you wanted to do despite what I told you the rules were. Go to your room. I will be there in a minute." Aaron started crying as he walked away. He just knew that he wasn't going to get to play with the Xbox in forever.

Steve hung around outside for a while and Catherine came out to meet him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his neck. "What happened, Dad?" she teased. Steve explained and she asked what he was going to do. Steve told her that he was going to spank him and put him on punishment. "Spank him? Don't you think that is harsh?" "What do you suggest I do? Everything he did tonight was just because he wanted to do it, not because he forgot about the rules. He told me that he never asked Laura permission because he thought she would say no. So he just did what he wanted to do and so now he has to face the consequences of that decision." Catherine asked Steve if this was the first time he did something like that. Steve told her that this was the first time he did something of this magnitude. He had gone into the water without permission before and had privileges revoked. He and Allison had been fighting one time before and they were put on punishment. Whenever they've left stuff out and he warned them to put it up, it got confiscated for 24 or 48 hours. "So," he explained, "I know how to punish without spanking. This, I think, is on another level because he just blatantly did what he wanted to do without regard for the rules or safety and he needs to get severe consequences. It's the best thing to do." He looked at Catherine and teased saying, "When we have kids I won't be able to spank them?" Catherine looked at him, shrugging her shoulders, and said, "Father knows best." He kissed her passionately and went in to take care of Aaron.

Steve went inside and paid the baby sitter and told her he had it from there. He called Allison down to watch TV with Catherine. He went up to Aaron's room and shut the door. He told Aaron that he knew what the rules were and because he violated the rules just so he could do what he wanted to do he was going to have to suffer the consequences. Steve took off his belt and Aaron started crying all over again. He said, "Dad, please don't spank me. I'm really sorry." Steve replied, "I know you're sorry now, son, but you knew better. Imagine the fear I felt when I was told that you could not be found. It was dangerous and even though you didn't mean for it to go so far, it did because you made some bad choices at the outset." He told him to lie across the bed and to not get up. Aaron lay across the bed and Steve began to spank him. He cried out and Steve felt a little bad but not enough to stop spanking him. He knew that he had to do this. Aaron asked him to stop but Steve had in mind how many licks he was going to give him and he had not reached that number yet. He kept going and moving Aaron's hand when he put it back to protect his butt (which was only natural). When he finished, he told Aaron to get up and go wash his face. He could come downstairs when he was ready and meet Catherine. He told him that he would not be able to play video games for a week. Even if they offered it at camp he could not play and he would let them know. Aaron said okay and tried to stop crying but couldn't. Not only did he just get whipped, he couldn't play with videos either. He felt destroyed. The no-videos-for-one-week thing was going to kill him. He didn't come downstairs for about an hour. By that time it was time to go to bed. He met Catherine and said good night.

Steve went upstairs and checked on the kids. To say that Allison was becoming a daddy's girl was an understatement. He hugged and kissed her good night. She asked him, "Daddy, are you mad at Aaron?" Steve shook his head and told her, "No I'm not mad at Aaron. Aaron broke the rules big time and could have put himself in danger and I had to punish him so that he won't do it again. If you break the rules like that you will get the same thing because I could not imagine if something happened to you guys. You understand?" "Yes, Daddy." He kissed her forehead again and told her to get some sleep. He went into Aaron's room and asked him, "You know I'm not mad at you, right?" Aaron said, "I think so." Steve told him, "I did not spank you out of anger. I spanked you because I knew I had to enforce the rules so that I can keep you safe. Do you know how afraid I was when Laura called to tell me that she could not find you? Can you imagine?" Aaron said he couldn't. Steve kissed his forehead and told him good night and that tomorrow would be better.

Steve went back downstairs to Catherine. He offered her some wine and apologized for the messed up night. They sat and watched TV for a while and drank their wine. They went upstairs after a while and quietly did what they do. The next morning, Steve made breakfast for everybody. He made waffles, bacon, and eggs. He asked the kids if they wanted to go to the aquarium and they wanted to go. Allison asked if Catherine was going and Steve asked her if she wanted her to go. She said of course she wanted her to go. "She's your friend. We have to make her feel welcome." Steve turned to Catherine and asked with a smirk, "Did you hear that? You are _my_ friend and are welcome to come if you'd like." Catherine accepted the offer. They had a great day. They all went to dinner and Allison asked if Catherine could come home with them. Steve thought it was a great idea. "Catherine, what do you think. Do you think you want to come home with us?" Steve asked with a smirk. "Hmm, I guess I can. I just have to run some errands before I come over. Can I see you when you wake up in the morning, Allison?" "Sure, " Allison replied. Steve dropped Catherine at her place and drove the kids home. On the way home he asked the kids what they thought of Catherine and they told him they liked her. He explained that she was his very special friend and that her job required her to leave town for extended periods of time. He told them that he likes to spend time with her when she is back in town. When he asked if that would be okay they told him that it would be. That made him smile and they went home and went to bed. Catherine kept her word and was there when the kids woke up and they had another great day as a "family" causing Steve to beam inside.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: This is purely fiction and I don't own and claim to have created any of the Hawaii Five-0 characters or references to them. This is purely fiction.**

Catherine had to ship out and now it was about two weeks before school was to start. Steve decided the kids would go to public school. They had to go shopping for school clothes and supplies because the kids only had very casual clothes that they brought for their "vacation." The team once again came around to help Steve with the kids. They all went shopping and Kono was the biggest help. She helped with getting all of the stuff that Allison would need for school including underwear etc. Shopping for Aaron was a lot easier for Steve and company because he was a boy. Kono reminded Steve that one day shopping for girls panties will be the least of his problems. He blushed and they all cracked up. The visual was too much of big navy seal Steve shopping for feminine products. The jokes went on for a while on that one.

After they finished shopping, Danny picked up Grace and they went to one of Chin Ho's favorite spots where you could do some spear fishing and some boogie boarding. They had a lot of fun. Danny wasn't exactly the spear fishing type so he boogie boarded with Grace, Kono, and Allison. Allison didn't want to try fishing but Aaron was very into it. They cooked their fish and stayed until night fell. They all said good night and had planned to get together for that Saturday before school started for a send off. When they got home the kids were pooped and showered and went to bed with no prompting at all. Steve thought that maybe he should have more days like this. Parenting would be easier if the kids were this tired he thought.

All too soon for the kids, the last weekend before school started came. They had their big cook out and played hard. Sunday morning Steve cooked them a big breakfast of whatever they liked because tomorrow would have to be streamlined. They got their book bags together with their new supplies and Steve thought back to when they were his age and getting ready for the new year. He wasn't nearly as excited but maybe because he wasn't going to a new school halfway around the world from his old school. They all sat down on the sofa after dinner and Steve asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. Aaron answered first saying that he thought that he wanted to be an astronaut but now he thinks he wants be a navy seal. "Really," Steve said. "What made you want to do that?" Aaron said, "That's what you were and look what you're doing now. I think it's cool." Well that made Steve's century that his son even for a moment wanted to be like him. "That's cool, son," he said as he touched his forehead to Aaron's. "Allison, what about you? What do you want to be when you grow up?" Allison looked off kind of dreamily, "I don't know daddy. Sometimes I think a ballerina. Sometimes I think I want to be police officer like Auntie Kono. Sometimes, I think I want to be a teacher like Mommy." With the mention of Annette, Steve's heart sank and he could see that the kids' demeanor changed too. He thought about it for a second and told her, "I think all of those sounds great and any of them would make your mom proud. You both have to remember that the surest way to achieve your goals is to do well in school. That starts with listening to your teachers and the people put in charge of you and being respectful, doing your homework and schoolwork. Do you understand?" They nodded. He went on to say, "As for being a ballerina, Allison, I think we should get you into ballet lessons. Would you like that?" She beamed, "That would be awesome, Daddy." "And Aaron, since you want to be a seal someday, how about martial arts lessons?" Aaron also lit up," That would be cool, Dad." "Alright then," Steve said. "We will start those in a few weeks after you've gotten used to your new school and your work load. Time for bed." They protested. "Hey, what did I say about doing what you're told? You need to go to bed now so you will be well rested for your first day. Let's go."

The next morning was pure chaos. Although he tried to plan everything out so that he could get them off smoothly, that was not how it went. No one wanted to get up, no one could find anything, they took forever to eat their breakfast, etc. He took them himself for their first day. He wanted to be able to peek in the classrooms and see how things were set up. He dropped them off and then went to peek because he didn't want the kids to know he was being so protective. He had a little bit of a hard time staying focused at work thinking about the kids. Thankfully, it was kind of slow for them at 5-0. He actually couldn't wait to pick them up and find out how the day went.

He left to pick up the kids and when he got to them, Allison and Aaron almost simultaneously said, "Guess what happened in school today?" They both began to talk in a very excited manner about their friends and the teachers, like they were talking over each other. He could deal with the need for structure later. He just enjoyed that they sounded so happy. This kind of chaos, he thought, he could get used to. He smiled the whole way home thinking about _his_ kids and this new life that _they all_ had.


End file.
